Banana Sourdough Muffins

bakingsourdough

I'm always looking for ways to use up my extra sourdough starter. It seems there's always a cup or so more than I need for bread and tossing it just feels wrong.

Today I was in such a predicament. It's bread day. I mixed up a loaf, set it aside to rise and was left with extra sourdough starter in my bowl. Conveniently sitting right in front of me were three ripe bananas. Banana muffins! That would work.

So I went searching for a good banana muffin recipe on the web. I found one that inspired me, but some of the ingredients needed tweaking to fit my pantry. My favorite thing about baked goods is that once you understand how the ingredients fit into categories, like fats, leaveners, binders, sweeteners, spices, etc..., you can play with your components to create a new formula. Here's what I came up with. My family deemed it a smashing success. I hope you like it.

Ingredients

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup honey

3 ripe mashed bananas

1/4 cup sourdough starter

2 eggs at room temperature (lightly beaten)

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup wheat flour

1/3 cup rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp turbinado sugar

3 tbsp rolled oats

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Whisk together the butter, maple syrup, and honey. Once the mixture is smooth add the bananas, sourdough starter, eggs, vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Fold the dry mixture into the wet being careful not to overmix. Too much mixing can lead to dense doorstop muffins. No one wants that.

Pour your batter into a greased muffin tin. Sprinkle the top with more oats and some turbinado sugar. The topping isn't necessary, but it will give your muffins a bit of extra top crust and visual appeal.

Bake for 25-35 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center muffin, comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for five minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!